Pest Management in Stored Products: The Case of the Cigarette Beetle, Lasioderma serricorne (Coleoptera: Anobiidae)

Post-harvest food losses due to pests represent a threat to food security in developing countries, where storage insects can deteriorate more than 50% of grain production, making them vulnerable to fungal attack and unsuitable for consumption, trade or planting. The application of pesticides increases the economic and environmental impact of pests and moves a billionaire market in the world. Lasioderma serricorne (F.) (Fabricius, 1792) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae), commonly known as the cigarette beetle, is a cosmopolitan pest that attacks a wide variety of stored agricultural products. The most used method to control L. serricorne is fumigation with phosphine; however, the systematic use of this pesticide has resulted in resistant individuals. Additionally, the restrictions on the use of pesticides by some markets require the adoption of more sustainable control methodologies. Here, we review the biology and ecology of L. serricorne, as well as the various currently available control tools, to direct the improvement of management techniques. The main points are: (1) L. serricorne is a pest extremely adapted to the storage environment and is among the more resistant species to treatments currently used in stored products, such as phosphine and CO2 fumigation; (2) the combined use of semiochemicals and other clean control techniques in integrated management strategies, as well as the prospection of bioactive natural products are trends for the sustainable combat of this pest in the field and during post-harvest storage; (3) biopesticides and plant breeding are efficient in reducing the attack by L. serricorne in tobacco; (4) bioacoustic detection of pests and the production of biosensors of high specificity and sensivity represent important advances towards the accurate, rapid and efficient detection of L. serricorne infestations, contributing to the early control measures and the rational use of pesticides.